DETROIT, Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- It seems the virtual world continues to delight us with experiences not yet available in the real world. Beginning January 14, the stunning Toyota FT-1 concept will be available as a downloadable vehicle for PlayStation®3's Gran Turismo 6 (GT6) real driving simulator. Race fans and the gaming community can experience FT-1 exclusively in GT6, where the FT-1 was created digitally to realistically demonstrate what a production FT-1 could achieve.

"Thanks to the amazing capability of the Gran Turismo game engine, gamers can enjoy a very real simulation piloting the ultra-high performance FT-1 on the tracks it was designed to master," said Kevin Hunter, President of Calty Design Research, the group responsible for the FT-1 design.

As part of the pitch process to top management that saw the FT-1 concept selected for construction and display on the international auto show circuit, Calty sought a way to help key executives (including Akio Toyoda) better experience the concept. Calty approached Polyphony about utilizing the Gran Turismo game physics to help create a driving simulator experience that could physically communicate the performance and emotion of the high-performance concept. For the day of design selection, the Polyphony team was able to bring the Toyota FT-1 to life in a virtual world that captured the excitement, passion, and performance conveyed by the concept model.

This exciting concept is a spiritual pacecar for Toyota's future design direction. Penned by enthusiast designers at Toyota's Calty Design Research facility in Newport Beach, California, the vibrant concept represents Toyota's vision of the ultimate high-performance sports car. Its name is derived from Future Toyota (FT), and the number "1" as in ultimate. The unparalleled physics engine in GT6 will bring the FT-1 to life for a gaming community eager to get behind the wheel of this aggressive, track-focused, visionary sports car concept.

Gran Turismo continues to be at the forefront of development with the world's most recognized automotive brands, pushing the racing simulator beyond gaming's boundaries to affect the broader automotive industry as a whole. GT6, the latest iteration of the best-selling franchise, comes complete with the most realistic physics engine and massive online functionality, while offering a staggering collection of more than 1,200 of the world's best cars and 37 tracks – with many of those cars coming first to GT6 thanks to unique partnerships like the one with Toyota.

"It's always been a dream of ours to have our automotive partners use Gran Turismo in exciting new ways," said Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of Gran Turismo and President of Polyphony Digital Inc. "The design team at Calty developed a stunning concept car and we were honored to work with them to render the car digitally for the concept presentation. The FT-1 is a forward-looking, technically advanced and beautiful concept car. We can't wait to see fans' reactions as they drive the vehicle and get to know it the way I was able to."

Owners of GT6 will be the first to test-drive the FT-1 as a free online update beginning January 14. Upon downloading the latest update, a unique seasonal event featuring the Toyota FT-1 will be made available in the game. Receive a bronze or better in the FT-1 challenge at Laguna Seca and you will receive the car. Drivers will also be able to purchase the vehicle from the Toyota dealership in the simulator without having to complete the seasonal event.

In addition to the creation of the FT-1 in GT6, Toyota is also represented in the groundbreaking Vision Gran Turismo project. A celebration of the franchise's 15th anniversary, the project invites leading brands to design their vision of the future of driving. The resulting concepts will be released exclusively on GT6 throughout the year.

About ToyotaToyota, the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ nearly 40,000 people (more than 37,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.3 million cars and trucks in 2012 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.

Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. (NYSE: TM)

About the Gran Turismo® FranchiseGran Turismo® celebrates its 15th anniversary in 2013, having first appeared internationally in 1998. The multi-award-winning franchise has been the most successful ever for PlayStation®, and in 2013 it also surpassed worldwide sales of 70 million units. Various iterations of Gran Turismo havebeen created for PlayStation® , PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®3 and PSP (PlayStation® Portable), and have always been regarded as the best and most authentic driving simulators ever created due to true-to-life graphics, authentic physics technology and design. Since the inception of Gran Turismo, famed creator Kazunori Yamauchi and Polyphony Digital Inc. in Japan have revolutionized the racing category as we know it today. His offerings provide the most realistic driving simulation in the industry and a unique medium for automotive manufacturers to showcase their products. Gran Turismo®5, the latest iteration of the game, was released in 2010 and has sold 10 million units worldwide. The latest entry into the franchise, Gran Turismo®6, released on December 6, 2013.